UPA-Left presidential nominee Pratibha Patil is likely to file her nomination papers for the high office on June 23 even as the third front mulled putting up its own candidate.

Patil, who called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior political leaders here on Saturday, is likely to resign as Rajasthan governor before filing her papers for the president’s post. She continued her meetings with senior leaders such as former prime minister V P Singh on Sunday. Patil refrained from speaking to the mediapersons waiting outside Mr Singh’s residence and limited herself by saying she will talk to them at an “appropriate” time. She is also called on Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chaterjee and Union HRD Minister Arjun Singh.

Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat is likely to contest, backed by the BJP and allies.

The third front is likely to make it a triangular contest as it meets in Chennai on Monday to decide its course of action.

A press release from the AIADMK, which is part of the eight party grouping, said the conclave of non-Congress and the non-BJP parties here on June 18 will “choose a nominee” for the Presidential elections. The conclave would be held at the residence of party Supremo Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK, TDP, Samajwadi Party, AGP, INDL, Kerala Congress (T), Jharkhand Vikas Morcha and MDMK had recently met at Hyderabad and decided to form a front, to maintain equal distance from both Congress and BJP. They also decided to give a formal shape to the front at their Chennai meeting.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena may dent the spirit of Shekhawat and BJP by opting to support the candidature of ‘Maharashtra woman’ Pratibha Patil.

The BJP partner is likely to take a call on this issue on Tuesday.

The Sena’s top brass discussed the issue here for two hours, after which Sena spokesman Sanjay Raut said that party chief Balasaheb Thackeray would announce the decision on June 19.

There was action in the Janata Dal (United) camp too as its top leaders - Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, party president  Sharad Yadav and NDA Convener George Fernandes met here to discuss the issue. Fernandes had held a meeting with Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav here on Saturday lobbying for Vice-President Shekhawat, who is tipped to contest as an independent backed by the NDA.

Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar on Saturday rejected media reports that Left parties had agreed to back Pratibha Patil in return for support for a Left-sponsored candidate for the Vice-President’s post.

“The issue of the Vice-President’s election did not come up at the UPA-Left meeting,” the Union Agriculture Minister said.

He said the issue of Vice-President's election was “deliberately skipped” at the meeting which decided on Pratibha Patil as the UPA-Left consensus candidate “as we wanted to first settle the issue of the Presidential polls.”